Louisiana still under attack

It's been over 40 days since oil has gushed unabated into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Every day news reports update on the menacing oil as it approaces the coast line. For over two weeks now, we in Louisiana are dealing with the oil on shore; deep into the marshes, killing marsh grass faster than a wildfire, on the sandy beaches of our barrier islands, slipping over oyster beds and rich habitat that normally supports shrimp, fish of all kinds, birds, pelicans, sea turtles, dolphins, and so much more.

Day after day we watch the oil pumping from the damaged riser while BP fails time and time again to stop the leak. The oil beseiges Louisiana's coast and way of life while BP CEO Tony Heyward speaks and acts wimpishly as he struggles to constantly remove his foot from his mouth. Oil renders working class families poorer by the hour while our President sound tough but appears unable to muster any real solutions. If criticism of President Bush after Katrina was fair and warranted (and some of it was) then President Obama should not escape his fair share of criticism either. While Louisiana officials proposed the dredging of sand berms, the feds took almost 4 weeks to act, while oil continued to lick at the boot of Louisiana.

Soon, we are told, the beaches and good people of other states, Alabama and Florida to be specific, will feel our pain. We in Louisiana are wishing our neighbors well and praying for the best for them. But in the meantime, for us in Louisiana, the damage is done, the oil is creeping deeper in the marsh and across ever expanding miles and miles of coastline.

Will we be able to supply a nation, hungry for quality seafood, with the shrimp, oysters and fish that we all have taken for granted? Will we be able to ever really develop a solid energy plan and learn how to drill safely without over reacting, like the Obama administration has, resulting in the unintended consequence of leaving more Louisiana residents unemployed? Will we be able to sustain communities of people who have seen a solid, honest, hard-working way of life as all of their sources of income are destroyed? Will we recover a way of life that identifies people of the coastal parishes of our great state as the backbone of southeast Louisiana?

I could go on; the questions keep coming; and so does the oil.

We owe so much thanks to the many people who are trying with all sincerity to make this latest man-made disaster to touch us in Louisiana tolerable. And we all must continue to pray for a conclusion to this disaster so all may be able to recover and move on.

Continue to pray for the people of Louisiana and the state itself.

Louisiana is still under attack. And her people will fight. And they will pray. We desperately need your prayers too!